Guide arrangement

ABSTRACT

An article, particularly a pump unit, which is to be lowered from a higher to a lower level is clampingly connected by an annular clamp member which comprises two parallel, slightly spaced arms adapted during descent of the article to automatically slidably engage a pair of parallel guide wire sections extending vertically between the higher and lower levels. The guide-wire sections, in effect, are formed by one integral wire which in the region of the higher level, is deflected through 180* by means of a C-shaped deflecting member. The free ends of the guide-wire sections are connected in the region of the lower level.

United States Patent [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 938,625 11/1909 Anderson 187/95 X 1,978,273 10/1934 Lundberg et al 187/95 X Primary Examiner-Albert .I. Makay Assistant Examiner Frank E. Werner AttorneyMichael S. Striker ABSTRACT: An article, particularly a pump unit, which is to be lowered from a higher to a lower level is clampingly connected by an annular clamp member which comprises two parallel, slightly spaced arms adapted during descent of the article to automatically slidably engage a pair of parallel guide wire sections extending vertically between the higher and lower levels. The guide-wire sections, in effect, are formed by one integral wire which in the region of the higher level, is deflected through 180 by means of a C-shaped deflecting member. The free ends of the guide-wire sections are connected in the region of the lower level.

PATENTEUUEB 7191: 3525488 SHEET 2 OF 2 Fig. 5

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GUIDE ARRANGEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a guide arrangement for guiding the descent of a pump unit consisting of an electromotor and centrifugal pump, into a sewage-containing tank by means of guide wires.

Such pump units which are especially used to evacuate waste and sewage from vessels, tanks, and the like, are known in the art.

Usually, tanks containing sewage to be evacuated comprise a fixed vertically extending discharge pipe having a 90 deflected open bottom end with which the pump unit, when lowered towards the bottom of the tank, automatically engages.

Flanking the discharge pipe are two vertical guide wires which, at one hand, are connected to the deflected bottom end of the pipe and, at the other hand, are connected in the region of the opening of the tank.

The pump unit upon entering the tank by means of a lowering chain, is manually releasably fastened to the guide wires in the region of the opening and is then further lowered by the chain and simultaneously guided by the guide wires. Fastening of the pump unit to the guide wires is accomplished in a conventional manner such as, for example, by means of connecting claws connected to the unit.

However, this manner of manually fastening the pump unit to the guide wire is extremely disadvantageous and difficult in that in order to realize such fastening, the attendant is forced to initially climb into the container and to locally connect the claw to the pump unit, or is forced to lie down and bend over into the tank opening to accomplish this feat.

Moreover, if the opening of the tank is so small that the pump unit is hardly able to pass through the same, the attendant, again, is forced to climb into the container, hook up the tank unit, lowered meanwhile through the opening by a second attendant, to the guide wires and, upon further lowering of the tank unit, has to clear the tank again.

This manner of guiding the pump unit into engagement with the open bottom end of the discharge pipe is thus not only cumbersome but, moreover, unhygienic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Object of the present invention is to positively overcome the above disadvantages and to provide a guide arrangement which does not require any manual intervention to guide the pump unit to the bottom of the tank, yet which advantageously utilizes the advantages inherent with guide wires.

Such a guide arrangement for guiding the descent of an article, in particular a pump unit, from a high level to a lower level comprises, according to the invention, an elongated flexible guide element fixed in the region of the lower level and having a first portion extending upwardly under tension to the upper level, and having a second portion. A deflecting member deflects this second portion relative to the first portion at an intermediate level and to one side of the first portion. An engaging member, at the one hand, is supportingly connected to the article to be lowered and, at the other hand, and in response to descent of the article from the upper level towards the lower level, is automatically slidably coupled to the first portion at a side thereof other than the side in which the second portion is deflected, and at the juncture between the first and second portions.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 schematically shows a tank and a pump unit being lowered towards the bottom of the tank, and illustrates the guide arrangement according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a front view of the deflecting support for deflecting and supporting the guide wire incorporated in the guide arrangement of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the deflecting support of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of the pump unit at the outset of the guiding step accomplished by means of the guiding arrangement of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the arrangement of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals index like parts, and with attention initially directed to FIG. 1, a pump unit 2 consisting of centrifugal pump and a water tightly encased electric motor, is illustrated as being lowered toward the bottom la of a sewage tank 1 by means of a chain 2a and, simultaneously, as being guided by the guide arrangement according to the present invention and which comprises the vertical guide sections 6a, 6b, FIG. 2, of a guide cable 6, which serves to guide the descent of the pump unit 2 between the opening 1b and bottom la of the tank 1 by means of the connecting claws 3b which, at the one hand, are coupled to the guide sections 6a, 6b and, at the other hand, are integral with an annular connecting member 3 which further comprises an annular mounting portion 3a clampingly connected to the unit 1.

The guide sections 6a, 6b are formed by one single cable 6 in such a manner that section 6a extends vertically upwardly from the bottom region of the tank and is deflected through in the upper region of the tank by means of a C-shaped deflecting and support member 8, FIG. 2, so that section 6b extends vertically downwardly towards the bottom region of the tank.

The free ends 6c, one shown in FIG. 1, are connected in the bottom region to the open end section of an upright discharge pipe 5, for example, by means of bolt members, not shown.

The deflecting and support member 8 is connected in the upper region to the structure of the tank by means of an adjustable bolt member 9, FIGS. 1-4, which serves to adjust the height of the member 8 relative to the bottom la. By adjusting the height of the member 8, the tension of the sections 6a, 6b is accordingly adjusted.

The support member 8 has an outer peripheral surface and a peripheral groove 10 formed in this surface to accommodate the sections 6a, 6b and a third cable section 60' which extends across the upper section of the member 8. In addition, upstanding projections ll, FIG. 2, are provided alongside the groove to retain the cable on the member 8.

The connecting claws 3b are seen to comprise two inner recesses 3c which, during initial lowering of the pump unit 2 into the tank, snugly slide by the C-shaped member 8 and, in engagement with the cable sections 6a and 6b, slidably guide the pump unit 2 during its further downward travel, FIGS. 1, 4 and 5.

The connecting claws 3b also comprise coupling hooks 3d which, guided by the cable sections 6a, 6b automatically engage and interlock with lug members 5a, FIG. 1 provided at the open end section of the pipe 5, in which condition the pump unit 2 is ready to evacuate sewage from the tank via the pipe 5.

The groove 10 in the outer peripheral surface of the C- shaped member 8 has a width which is substantially equal to or slightly larger than the diameter of the cable 6 so as to snugly fit the latter.

In addition, roller members 12 may be provided at the free ends of the C-shaped member 8, FIG. 2, to facilitate deflection and guidance of the cable 6 on the member 8. The peripheral groove 13 in the rollers has a width slightly smaller than the width of the member 8 but substantially corresponding to the diameter of the cable 6.

Instead of, or in addition to, the third section 6d may be constituted by a tensioning spring, not shown, integral with the cable sections 6a, 6b and operative to either singly bias these sections or additionally bias the same.

It will be appreciated from the above the description, that no manual intervention is necessary to connect the pump unit 2 to guide wire sections 6a and 6b.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapted it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. A guide arrangement for guiding the descent of an article from a higher level to a lower level comprising an elongated flexible guide element having a first, a second and a third portion, said first and third portions extending from said lower level upwardly under tension to an intermediate level; deflecting means at said intermediate level between said first and third portions for deflecting said second portion to one side relative to said first portion and said third portion relative to said second portion into substantial parallelism with said first portion; engaging means having a mounting portion operative to be connected to an article to be lowered from said upper to said lower level and having connecting portions operative to engage said second and third portions from the outside and at the juncture between said portions in response to descent of said article from said upper to said lower level; and means supporting said deflecting means at said intermediate level and permitting said connecting portions to engage said second and third portions of said flexible guide element during descent of said article.

2. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said deflecting means comprises a substantially C-shaped element having an outer peripheral surface and a groove extending in said outer peripheral surface, and wherein said first, second and third portions are accommodated in said groove.

3. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, and including a tensioning element for adjustably tensioning at least said first and third portions.

4. An arrangement as defined in claim 3, wherein said tensioning element is a threaded bolt centrally connecting said C- shaped element to said intermediate level and adapted to adjust the height of said C-shaped element relative to said lower level to thereby vary the tension of said first and third portions.

5. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein said groove in said C-shaped element comprises portions having a width substantially equal to the diameter of at least said first and third portions of said guide element.

6. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein said groove in said C-shaped element comprises portions having a width slightly larger than the diameter of at least said first and third portions of said guide element.

7. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein said C- shaped element comprises upstanding projections adjacent said groove for retaining at least said first and third portions in said groove.

8. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein said second portion is a tensioning spring biassing said first and third portions.

9. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said deflecting means comprises a substantially C-shaped element having an outer peripheral surface and free ends at opposite ends of said peripheral surface, and wherein roller elements are provided at said free ends for accommodating and guiding said first and third portions.

10. An arrangement as defined in claim 9, wherein said roller element have a width comparatively smaller than the width of said peripheral surface at said 0 posite ends thereof and substantially equal to the diameter 0 said first and third portions.

11. An arrangement as defined in claim 10, wherein said roller elements have an outer peripheral surface and a circumferential recess in said peripheral surface for accommodating said first and third portions.

12. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said article is a unit comprising an electrical motor and a pump. 

1. A guide arrangement for guiding the descent of an article from a higher level to a lower level comprising an elongated flexible guide element having a first, a second and a third portion, said first and third portions extending from said lower level upwardly under tension to an intermediate level; deflecting means at said intermediate level between said first and third portions for deflecting said second portion to one side relative to said first portion and said third portion relative to said second portion into substantial parallelism with said first portion; engaging means having a mounting portion operative to be connected to an article to be lowered from said upper to said lower level and having connecting portions operative to engage said second and third portions from the outside and at the juncture between said portions in response to descent of said article from said upper to said lower level; and means supporting said deflecting means at said intermediate level and permitting said connecting portions to engage said second and third portions of said flexible guide element during descent of said article.
 2. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said deflecting means comprises a substantially C-shaped element having an outer peripheral surface and a groove extending in said outer peripheral surface, and wherein said first, second and third portions are accommodated in said groove.
 3. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, and including a tensioning element for adjustably tensioning at least said first and third portions.
 4. An arrangement as defined in claim 3, wherein said tensioning element is a threaded bolt centrally connecting said C-shaped element to said intermediate level and adapted to adjust the height of said C-shaped element relative to said lower level to thereby vary the tension of said first and third portions.
 5. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein said groove in said C-Shaped element comprises portions having a width substantially equal to the diameter of at least said first and third portions of said guide element.
 6. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein said groove in said C-shaped element comprises portions having a width slightly larger than the diameter of at least said first and third portions of said guide element.
 7. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein said C-shaped element comprises upstanding projections adjacent said groove for retaining at least said first and third portions in said groove.
 8. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein said second portion is a tensioning spring biassing said first and third portions.
 9. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said deflecting means comprises a substantially C-shaped element having an outer peripheral surface and free ends at opposite ends of said peripheral surface, and wherein roller elements are provided at said free ends for accommodating and guiding said first and third portions.
 10. An arrangement as defined in claim 9, wherein said roller elements have a width comparatively smaller than the width of said peripheral surface at said opposite ends thereof and substantially equal to the diameter of said first and third portions.
 11. An arrangement as defined in claim 10, wherein said roller elements have an outer peripheral surface and a circumferential recess in said peripheral surface for accommodating said first and third portions.
 12. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said article is a unit comprising an electrical motor and a pump. 